Five Questions About... comparison sites

Simon Read

Simon Read is Personal Finance Editor at The Independent. He edits the Saturday Your Money section and writes the Daily Money column and Wednesday’s Midweek Money section in i newspaper. He also writes for the news and business pages of the Independent and i newspaper and is a regular money commentator on TV station London Live. He has won numerous awards including Consumer Finance Journalist of the Year.

They have certainly changed the way most people shop for financial products, with more people than ever switching to lower-charging deals.

So what else do we need to know about them?

The Office of Fair Trading is concerned that some sites do not "deliver an impartial, honest service with accurate and comprehensive information".

Which ones?

It hasn't named any names but it has written to 100 sites after its review found many need to improve privacy policies and complaints processes. It also said some sites need to provide greater clarity about the way search results are presented, and clear identification of the business actually running the website.

Does that mean they're misleading us?

Yes. Some sites put price quotes at the top of their list from companies that pay more. Meanwhile other sites are owned by firms whose products they can recommend, questioning their impartiality.

So should we not trust the results we get?

If you're shopping around for a deal, use two or three sites to get a fair comparison of what's available. The OFT also advises people to "opt out" so that sites don't sell their information on to others.

Tourists are limp, leaderless and distinctly UnAustralian

Andrew Grice: Inside Westminster

Blairites be warned, this could be the moment Labour turns into Syriza

The mystery of Britain's worst naval disaster is finally solved - 271 years later

Exclusive: David Keys reveals the research that finally explains why HMS Victory went down with the loss of 1,100 lives

'I saw people so injured you couldn't tell if they were dead or alive'

Nagasaki survivors on why Japan must not abandon its post-war pacifism

The voter Obama tried hardest to keep onside

Outgoing The Daily Show host, Jon Stewart, became the voice of Democrats who felt the President had failed to deliver on his ‘Yes We Can’ slogan. Tim Walker charts the ups and downs of their 10-year relationship on screen